News and Press Releases

Former Rockford Physician Charged With Fraud

ROCKFORD — A former Rockford physician was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Rockford on two counts of making false statements in a bankruptcy case and three counts of mail fraud. The indictment alleges that LYNN Y. ZOIOPOULOS (also known as Lynn Shelton-Zoiopoulos, Lynn Y. Shelton, Lynn Yenko, Lynn Yenko Zoiopoulos, Lynn Yenko Shelton-Zoiopoulos, and Lynn Zoiopoulos), 58, now of Chicago, Ill., filed a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Petition on August 11, 2009. As alleged in the indictment, Zoiopoulos failed to disclose that she had an interest in the estate of her deceased grandmother, and that she fraudulently concealed property from the bankruptcy trustee, creditors, and the United States Trustee. The indictment further alleges that Zoiopoulos made false statements on a bankruptcy schedule and a Statement of Financial Affairs, both of which were filed under penalty of perjury.

According to the indictment, Zoiopoulos was Executor of her deceased grandmother’s estate, in which she and her sister were beneficiaries. It is alleged Zoiopoulos devised a scheme to defraud the estate and her sister, by misappropriating hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets of the estate for her own personal use and benefit. It is further alleged that Zoiopoulos concealed her embezzlement of estate assets by not filing the required inventory, accounting, tax returns, and status reports for the estate, and falsely asserted to the Trustee of her bankruptcy case that the remainder of the estate’s assets were earmarked for her sister. It is also alleged that in carrying out the scheme, Zoiopoulos caused checks representing assets of the estate to be sent to her using the United States mail.

Each charge of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, and each count of providing material false statements or documents under penalty of perjury in a bankruptcy case carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from that offense, whichever is greater. The judge may also impose a sentence of probation of one to five years, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

Members of the public are reminded that a criminal indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.

The indictment was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.